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06.05.2009 - 21:40
Mother's Day Weekend, on the weekend before.
The women in my family have an annual tradition. Every year they converge on my aunt's cottage up in the Muskoka region of Central Ontario. For those not in the know, Muskoka is a lake district north of Toronto that is almost pure cottage country. Its also the southern edge of the Canadian Shield, making it very rocky. It not far from Algonquin Park, and as such, it has a similar mix of deciduous and coniferous forest.
Anyway, back to the weekend. Because of the timing, and my lack of funds, I have never been to one of these weekends. They started after I moved out to Vancouver, and I never could make it. But this year, I handed my thesis over to my committee days before the planned weekend, so there was nothing holding me back. I handed the thesis in on Monday, and hopped on a plane on Wednesday and headed East. Since I had never gone, my mother decided to plan the whole thing as a surprise for the others (except my sister, whose house I needed to stay at). So I had a 2 days of Mother's Day Weekend, sandwiched between 2 days of fun and playtime with my sister's 3 children.
I guess I don't need to tell you that it was fun. My sister's 2 older kids are big enough now that they play, and the youngest one is a very alert 6 month old who loves to be held so she can see what's happening. So we spent a day playing dressup and cars and reading books and just being together. We built towers and played games and they were wonderful. The Oldest One (4 years old) goes to French language daycare, so he and I practiced our colours and numbers en français.
The Middle One has just made it over the hump, at 2 and a half, and she loves hats and has some of the best hair around. It almost always stuck up in some direction or another.
Though this is a women's weekend, the Middle one was not allowed to go. This, I was informed, is due to the fact that she can speak, which is no good for a Mother's Day Weekends, because you never know what they might hear. The Little One was more than welcome, as all children too young to speak are, regardless of gender.
On the surface, our goal was to open the cottage for the summer. This entails turning on the power, removing the shutters and hooking up the water. The first 2 were easy, but hooking up the water required a bit of work. The women have been doing this for several years, though, so we were up to the task.
The rest of the weekend was dedicated to enjoying each other's company. We have spread out across the country over the years, and there are very few times that we are all together. This year was particularly special, since 8 of the 10 women were there. The thing I have always loved about this side of the family is that there are no lines. The sisters-in-law are treated exactly the same as the biological ones. I forget that some of these aunt's are only through marriage. There is virtually no politics, only the pure enjoyment that comes when you know someone so well for so long.
I have a few pictures, but most of the things that went on are the types of things that cannot be captured (while other should not be repeated). We made up dance routines to ABBA under the influence of too many glasses of wine, and held an impromptu bra sizing clinic with my SIL who works in the lingerie business (after which we all strutted our stuff to show off our new cup sizes). We all were to bring things from our region, so I had some wild-caught Pacific sockeye salmon for cedar plank cooking, while my aunt had some Alberta beef, and my mom brought Montreal smoked meat. Of course it goes without saying that we doted on my niece, who was the only child in the room for once, and quite enjoyed being the sole responsibility of her mother, and the focus of much of our attention.
We left early on Sunday morning to head back to the city, as my mother had a long drive back to Montreal (via Ottawa, to drop off SIL) and my sister was anxious to see her other 2 munchkins again. My mother only got one speeding ticket on the way home (she has a well documented lead foot) and we arrived to find that my Brother in Law proudly brought his daughter with her hair done to see her mother (3 barrettes!). We got back and picked up where we had left off the day before, with the playing and the running and the giggling. On Monday we all went to play group together, and the Middle One and I hung out while Mom took Oldest One to school. She and I read stories and got ready for our (and by our I mean her) nap. My sister was wrecked from a long night, so she also napped when she got back and the Little One and I had some solid play time as well.
I went to the airport after supper, and we only had a small moment when the middle one cried because she wanted to come as well (that has never happened before). They are officially old enough that they remember, and that they miss me when I'm gone. I've always worried a lot about being so far away because they won't know who I am, but they do. It doesn't mean I don't wish I was closer, but its nice to know that you can be a good aunt even when you live far away.
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